


Another Option

by RavensFan1989



Category: Halt and Catch Fire
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-05
Updated: 2016-10-05
Packaged: 2018-08-19 17:46:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8219690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavensFan1989/pseuds/RavensFan1989
Summary: After breaking the law, Joe has told Ryan what his two options are and offered to help Ryan out, no matter which he may choose to take.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I refuse to accept what happened in "You Are Not Safe" (3x08) as reality so here is my version of what really should have happened (and what really did happen, as far as I'm concerned).

He had given Ryan his options: run or turn himself in. Joe wasn’t so sure at how adept the young man would be at staying hidden if he ran, and turning himself in had seemed like even less of a pleasant option, especially when Joe had broken the news to him that they would never be able to work together. It had hurt to tell Ryan the truth but Joe was done with lies…

…Or so he liked to tell himself. Hadn’t he just told Gordon not too long ago that he didn’t have “more than friends” feelings for Ryan? Well, that lie could be excused because it wasn’t any of Gordon’s business. Joe still wasn’t sure why Gordon had even decided to ask about it in the first place.  

But that was neither here nor there. Right now all he wanted to focus on was helping Ryan, no matter what he chose to do. Joe had just told him he would grab some sheets so he could sleep on the couch. He had turned his back on Ryan and was going to go do just that but the fear that Ryan would take the opportunity to bolt should he put him out of his sight for just a minute kept Joe rooted to his spot.

He turned back around. “On second thought, my bed’s big enough for the both of us and much more comfortable too.”

Ryan looked like a deer caught in headlights. He was trying to process too much too quickly. “I…I…” He usually had no trouble with words, had so much to say.

Thankfully words came easier to Joe right now and being straightforward was one of his gifts. “You shouldn’t be alone. I won’t risk letting you do something you’re going to end up regretting.”

Ryan’s gaze strayed towards the front door and then back to Joe. “I can’t stay here tonight.” Each passing second seemed to enhance the butterflies in his stomach, a feeling he had been living with for months now.

Joe wasn’t going to take no for answer. “You can and you will.” He closed the distance between them. Joe wrapped an arm around Ryan’s shoulders and guided him towards his bedroom.

What choice did Ryan have but to passively follow where Joe guided him?

As soon as he saw his bed, Ryan couldn’t help but blurt out, “You don’t fix your bed in the morning.”

Everyone had their own way of working through difficult decisions. If this was somehow Ryan’s way, then he would go with it. “Does that surprise you?” he asked, both out of curiosity and wanting to keep the conversation going on this new track.

Ryan nodded his head. “It does. Someone as well put together as you I’d imagine wants to return home to perfection every night.”

Joe chuckled at that. “Or I just prefer not to fix something that will be messed up again at the end of the day.” Well, Joe immediately regretted saying that.

Ryan took a step back, and Joe couldn’t blame him if he wanted to leave even more now. Before he could move any farther away, Joe gently grabbed him by the wrist. “I’m sorry,” he apologized, “We both could use the rest.”

He only let go of Ryan when he was sure he wasn’t going to flee. Joe got underneath the covers on one side of the bed and Ryan mirrored his movements on the other.

Neither of them closed their eyes. Joe couldn’t say how many minutes had passed before he felt Ryan’s fingers coil around his own. “I’m scared, Joe,” he said, “I can’t…I can’t go on the run and I don’t want to turn myself in. Both would mean losing you.”

Joe pretended he didn’t feel his heart skip a beat. Ryan wasn’t thinking clearly. That was all it was. Joe gave his hand a reassuring squeeze and then let it go so he could roll onto his side. “Believe me, I wish there was another option.”

Ryan turned onto his side. “There is,” he stated matter-of-factly, “I’ll still lose you but I won’t know it…or at least I think I won’t.”

Understanding came quickly to Joe. “No,” he replied adamantly, “That isn’t an option, Ryan.”

“It’s my life. My future.”

“You won’t have a future if you do that. We won’t be able to work together but your life doesn’t evolve around me. You have so much more to offer the world and…” He trailed off, zoning into his own thoughts, muttering out loud, without meaning to, “I lied to Gordon.”

Ryan, needless to say, hadn’t a clue where that seemingly random statement had come from. “What-”

That was all that Joe allowed him to get out. He cupped his cheek and planted a chaste kiss on his lips, leaving Ryan flabbergasted when he pulled away. “I lied to Gordon,” he repeated, this time meaning to say it, “I do have feelings for you and, working together may be out of the question, but being together isn’t.”

Ryan allowed the barest hint of a smile to reach his lips. “I don’t know what to say.”

Joe’s smile was much more noticeable. “You don’t need to say anything.”

“Right.” It was Ryan’s turn to place a hand on Joe’s cheek. He moved in for a much more forceful kiss.

Joe hadn’t meant that Ryan needed to do that but he wasn’t sure he could have stopped him even if he had wanted to. Seconds later, he found himself on top of Ryan, and all thoughts of the future were wiped from their minds.

———–

Joe listened to Ryan’s steady breathing. The young man’s head lay on his chest, his arms wrapped around him. Whatever Ryan decided to do, he would be there for him, whether it meant daily visits to prison for a couple of years or starting a whole new life in some town where the FBI would never find them.

He loved Ryan. It was as simple as that. He would help him through this rough spot, no matter what it took.

With that thought in mind, Joe closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.    


End file.
